https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:46:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1327371 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 07:43:35 +0000 looch 1327371@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: The video is blocked for me at work, I'll try to remember to watch it later at home, so thanks for that!</p> <p>I have lived in 2 countries and paid for insurance in both places. For a family of 3 we paid MORE in Switzerland for the same amount of coverage. The main difference is that there, the government mandates that everyone be covered, so the insurance companies have levels of coverage available at different income levels. Your employer pays nothing, so the cost is more as a result.</p> <p>I had collegues in Singapore that paid nothing for medical coverage, because the governement requires that companies that want to do business there pay for coverage for their employees.</p> <p>Just to give numbers, we paid the equivalent of about $600 for coverage for a family of 3 abroad, in the US, the equivalent coverage is about $400, with our employer paying part. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1327006 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:44:13 +0000 yoursilverlining 1327006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetMamaM: it is sad :/</p> <p>Although we do have some safety nets, if you are an "able-bodied" adult (not a senior) without private healthcare, your options are very limited. And when portions of the population go without medical care on a regular basis, it cost us all a lot, short term and long term. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326995 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:40:18 +0000 Mae 1326995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: That's not entirely true. Yes you're always going to pay for healthcare one way or another (taxes or privately), but the cost of care is higher in America than in most places, and we get less for it. </p> <p>Excellent video: <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2" rel="nofollow">http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326970 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:33:12 +0000 honeybear 1326970@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetMamaM: We have clinics in the US that are run by charitable organizations that provide free care to the poor. The difference is that their doctors and nurses are either donating their services or are being paid by the charitable organization, rather than the government. We also have Medicaid, which is a government program that provides insurance to low-income individuals and which covers primary care. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326849 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 20:52:25 +0000 MrsTal 1326849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>More to the point, the cost of services is outrageous, which I believe is the point of his posting his bill. DH was in the hospital for 10 days a year ago, had a more invasive surgery than this guy and in total his bill was $55k before insurance. </p> <p>Trying to navigate the healthcare system in this country is ridiculous. One doctor group charged us more than $1000 when all they did is come into the room and ask how he was doing. We had to pay that out of pocket because that group of doctors wasn't in our network, yet worked at the hospital that was in our network, that was the case with the anesthesiologist and a few other doctors as well. Now I worry any time there is an emergency situation that pops up I will have to be on my phone trying to figure out who is covered and who isn't instead of focusing on the emergency itself. It's a nightmare. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326823 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 20:36:21 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1326823@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: I noticed the 80/20 too. Seems reasonable to me. </p> <p>Insurance helps mitigate one's own costs by pooling resources of many, but at some point care is given and has to be paid. Who best to pay for the care other than the person who needed the care? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326773 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 20:08:07 +0000 SweetMamaM 1326773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: awww that's sad. We have a lot of local clinics in areas that have been targeted as at-risk...quite a few of them are attached to schools or marae (Maori community hubs) but service whole families at little or no cost. It's hoped that it will reduce the incidences of rheumatic fever within impoverished and minority communities. We're also very lucky that health care is completely free (not even a subsidized consult fee) for children under the age of six so that means that those check-ups, vaccinations and preventative medicine matters actually happen. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326360 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 17:05:48 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1326360@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>He might have had a high deductible plan. One of options this year meant that we'd pay $80/month for coverage, but $20,000 OOP. </p> <p>It's geared toward low-risk individuals (no health problems, never sick, etc).</p> <p>I wish the person would have disclosed his insurance plan! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326157 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:56:31 +0000 yoursilverlining 1326157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetMamaM: Yes. There is a lot of good info out there that many people below the poverty line do not have regular health care (checkups, preventative care, etc.) and do not seek help when they are sick, compared to those with health insurance. Many without healthcare utilize the ER as their main healthcare contact, which is the absolute most expensive and least effective way to use healthcare – both for the patient (if they pay the bill; if they don’t their credit is often ruined in the process), the hospital and the rest of the taxpayers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1326128 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:46:29 +0000 honeybear 1326128@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetMamaM: Yes, in the US there are people who have no insurance who cannot get primary care from private practitioners because they cannot pay. Emergency care at most hospitals (which I am fairly certain would include surgery for something like a ruptured appendix) is a different story. If you have an emergency, those hospitals cannot turn you away, regardless of whether you can pay or not. However, the ER only has to stabilize the patient. </p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325957 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:10:05 +0000 Adira 1325957@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not positive, but I think a lot of hospitals are non-profit and have a TON of overhead, plus the coverage for everyone that doesn't have insurance or can't afford to pay. You'll notice on his bill, that the allowance by the insurance was reduced by $37k. I believe that means that even though the hospital tried to charge $55k, they were actually only going to be paid $18k. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325943 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:06:30 +0000 Dandelion 1325943@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The issue isn't the insurance...it's the price he has to pay to sit in a recovery room or patient room. Hospitals just charge what they want for that stuff, because they can. It's an overkill. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325925 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:03:30 +0000 Adira 1325925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm surprised by this - my OOP max for my insurance is $3k, so I'd never have to pay this much. I'm not sure why his insurance has such a high OOP max, but I definitely disagree that it sucks to be sick in America!</p> <p>@honeybear: I agree, his insurance paid 80%, which is pretty standard! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325921 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 15:02:31 +0000 SweetMamaM 1325921@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This does scare me, coming from a nation of universal healthcare. Our public system has faults (thus why private health insurance and health care facilities are available) but wouldn't you have many people in the US (minority groups and those under the poverty line in particular) who simply would not seek medical assistance because they know they'll never be able to pay the bill? Or is there something I'm missing here? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325888 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 14:56:50 +0000 honeybear 1325888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think this is actually evidence of a fairly reasonable insurance contract. His bill was $55k, and insurance paid some $44k or so of that, so 80%. Now, $11k is still a big number, but he had a nontrivial operation. And presumably when he signed his insurance contract, he read all the fine print about out-of-pocket expenses and in-network providers, right? So why is that 80/20 split objectionable? (And if it is objectionable, then consider that the vast majority of the plans available on the individual market under the ACA are much less favorable to insureds.) I think it's really important to remember that insurance should not be a prepayment plan for healthcare services. It's a financial product that protects you against financial ruin in the event of a catastrophe. This guy had a catastrophic event, and his insurance picked up the bulk of the bill. The only problem I see here is that he had no idea what an appendectomy cost in his area when he was deciding to buy that 80/20 insurance plan, because there is next to no transparency in the healthcare industry (a related discussion). </p> <p>@sunny: I think you're right. I have read that the Sutter Health system has a virtual monopoly on the healthcare market in that area (San Fran/Sacramento). They therefore have close to monopoly prices. That isn't the case in a lot of the rest of the country. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325715 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 14:30:53 +0000 Lindsay05 1325715@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@pui: Yes our 'free' universal healthcare isn't the greatest neither. When you see half your pay check go to taxes you realize you are paying for it through the butt. Especially if you see your doctor once a year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325684 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 14:26:56 +0000 pui 1325684@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Yeah, I don't think people realize how much more taxes we pay in Canada. We pay for our healthcare here too. Nevermind that I have quite a few problems with the care myself and family has received. I don't know what the best system would be, but I would definitely say that Canada doesn't have it perfect either. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325541 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 14:01:06 +0000 MamaMoose 1325541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LuLu Mom: Agree. This guy (or I guess his dad since he was covered by his dad's plan) has a terrible plan. Our entire family has a $2K out of pocket mac for a year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325464 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:45:27 +0000 looch 1325464@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I actually don't think being sick in America sucks that bad, if you're going to get sick, don't you want to be in a place where you have the ability to go to the hospital in the first place?</p> <p>Also, our insurance situation is what it is, largely because we (as a country) do not want to pay so much more in income tax. The cost of healthcare is expensive, no matter where you live, it's just a matter of when you pay for it (in your taxes or personally when you get sick). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325455 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:44:13 +0000 LuLu Mom 1325455@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow...does he not have an out of pocket cap? We have one and it was great with all of DD medical stuff this last year! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325408 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:35:10 +0000 Mrs. Tiger 1325408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Omg!</p> <p>Through my NICU adventures I see a lot of this. DS2 was helicoptered for his current stay, I want to see how much the bill is for that! Thankfully our insurance isn't as bad as that guy's. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325352 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:22:56 +0000 Zbug 1325352@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's crazy. Our hospital charged $20k for my drug free labor and one night stay. Luckily, insurance covered most of it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325339 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:19:58 +0000 Charm54 1325339@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Unreal. That is so scary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325318 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:16:13 +0000 sunny 1325318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow scary! That hospital bill seems so high though. LO's c-section birth and our subsequent 1 week stay in the hospital was $60k. And we went to a fancy private hospital, not a county one. I wonder if that hospital is doing something fishy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325294 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:10:28 +0000 Mae 1325294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>YEP. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325282 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:07:06 +0000 oliviaoblivia 1325282@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's so depressing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325257 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:01:38 +0000 Mamaof2 1325257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>wow - that is a lot - What is his yearly OOP???<br /> Mine is only 3k (which I thought was a lot)</p> <p>I agree that insurance companies should crack down on the hospital fees - some are outrageous! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325254 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:00:58 +0000 Dandelion 1325254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ugh, that's awful. Some of the charges don't seem so bad, but room and board and the charge for the recovery room is just ridiculous! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325229 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 12:52:45 +0000 artsyfartsy 1325229@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: Hmm. It works for me. Let me try it again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/being-sick-in-america-sucks#post-1325228 Tue, 07 Jan 2014 12:52:33 +0000 mrbee 1325228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: just fixed it, I think! </p>